Lapus prepares HS students for economic independence

To help Japanese graduates find gainful employment, the Japanese government uses the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labor, as well as Ministry of Trade and Industry. The statistics on various employment, whether blue collar jobs, rank and file employees, or professionals are made available by the Labor department.

The Education department provides the public with sufficient data to encourage them to take up the appropriate collegiate courses that are in demand. Filipino parents lack information on such matters so they helplessly follow the whims and caprices of their children on the choice of collegiate courses.

Meantime, the Trade and Finance department facilitate linking the graduates to various companies. It is a practice for big enterprises in Japan to provide a year or two of apprenticeship to new graduates. Company dormitories are provided. Private entrepreneurs are also encouraged to set up small businesses.

How DepEd, TESDA and CHED unite to promote ESD to meet the UNMDG

To confirm the united effort of the three education agencies to provide "lifelong learning for sustainable development", the UNESCO National Commission conferred last October with DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, TESDA Secretary Augusto "Buboy" Syjuco and our UNESCO Education Commissioner Dr. Nona Ricafort, who sits in both the TESDA board and the CHED commission. UNESCO Paris has encouraged the establishment of the UNESCO Lifelong Learning Center for Sustainable Development (Category II) in Southeast Asia, but requires adequate government financial support.

The discussion centered on the National Plan of Action of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to meet the UN MDG (UN Millennium Development Goals) with her programs focusing on self-sufficiency. Secretary Syjuco enthusiastically spoke about his energetic campaign of "Career Guidance in Ladderized Education" to empower high school graduates with short technical courses that would readily earn money. He invites them to "pass by TESDA on their way to college" training in Nursing, Engineering, Maritime, ICT, Tourism, Agriculture, Criminology and Technical Training.

UNESCO Commissioner Dr. Ricafort has been working closely with Sec. Syjuco on linking the TESDA graduates to eventually acquire college degrees through the ladderized process. She also believes that the technical training can already be ignited in high school with "apprenticeship" programs. I added the example of our 25-year old OB Montessori "professional high school", which specializes in food service and has been financially viable.

Secretary Lapus is also convinced that vocational training can be started as early as high school, "Private high schools can work this out right away since they can better afford facilities." Thus, he is now conducting the National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE) for a start. This will help students determine which course to take in college, noting that there is a mismatch between career choices and skills among the youth today. This will also hopefully serve as our students’ guide in choosing an appropriate career path after graduation.

Learning to earn in professional high school

In UNESCO’s 21st Century Education, the four Pillars of Learning to Be (0-6 years old), Learning to Learn (6-12 years old), Learning to Work (12-18 years old) and Learning to Live Together (12-18 years old) match the natural characteristics of children from infancy, childhood, adolescence to adulthood.

While grade school children have no difficulty getting promoted throughout the whole elementary school years, high school students’ weakened intelligence is replaced by their creative energy in pursuit of economic independence. They can earn money whether they train in short courses in food service, hair science, horticulture, automotive, welding, plumbing or carpentry. European and American secondary schools average six years with the last two years focused on technical training. They are employed first as apprentices, but are professionally employed after graduation.

I recounted the income generated by our OB Montessori Professional High School. Every December, the Food Fair and Minimart involve the whole high school department. Fifteen years ago in 1990, with a capital investment of P5,000, students earned a profit of P2,500. Due to increased demands, school investment became bigger so that students had a profit of P52,500 from 2000 to 2002. Every year since then, profit increased from P96,000 in 2003, P101,000 in 2004, P115,000 in 2005, and P128,000 this school year. Profits earned go to the improvement of the Prepared Environment of the cafeterias.

Today, the Rainbow Catering Club has involved students from first to fourth year high school students catering to both preschool and primary grade school students. Since the full package includes invitation, unique menu and catering service, including emcee dressed in clown costumes, parlor games and giveaways, parents prefer them to McDonalds or Jollibee party packages. Costing P4,300 for a class of 30 students, this includes a costume for the birthday child whether it is a Clown, Indian, Disney or Fiesta sa Nayon theme.

The European-style dinner no longer uses my house. It is an annual formal dinner-show by the third year high school students, usually held in February at the 8th floor Maria Montessori Theater-Hall. Tagged today as "Corporate Events", they charge P350 per guest. In the past few years, the students’ guests have increased to 400 Parents, relatives, friends and alumni eagerly make reservations to watch the student chefs, waiters, ushers and stage people perform. A student band would provide dinner music.

Difficulties encountered in redirecting the energies of HS students

There are a lot of difficulties encountered all over the world with regards to redirecting the energies of high school students. UNESCO APEID (Asia Pacific Educational Innovation for Development) have been organizing conferences since 1995 to improve the quality and equity of secondary education so that our students may have more productive lives as valued citizens of the globalized world. The theme of these conferences include: Re-engineering Education for Change — Educational Innovation for Development; Educational Innovation for Sustainable Development, Secondary Education and Youth at the Crossroads; Reforming Learning, Curriculum and Pedagogy — Innovative Visions for the New Century; Secondary Education — Meeting the Needs of Adolescents and Youth in Asia and the Pacific.

Mr. Zhou Nanzhao, president of UNESCO APNIEVE (Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education), during the 2002 Annual UNESCO-APEID International Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, defined adolescence "as a complex, distinct and dynamic phase of human development, a period in which young people experience many difficulties." In response to the current deficiencies in secondary education, he said that young people face multi-faceted challenges and their learning needs are far from met.

The career exam is only recommendatory, no sanctions identified

About 1.8 million graduating high school students will take the career exam, which is a revival of the National College Entrance Examination. They assure parents that the results of the exams are only recommendatory and no sanction is identified in failing to take them.

Sec. Lapus said the test will evaluate not only the students’ academic performance, but their technical and vocational capacities, as well as entrepreneurial skills. This is to enable students, as well as their parents, to rationalize career prospects, as well as focus on careers with jobs available by the time they finish school.

Technical and vocational education is on top of Secretary Lapus’ agenda this year, saying it will provide the students "the competitive advantage they need to become viable in the cut-throat global marketplace." DepEd is now preparing for the implementation of a Tech-Voc package for secondary school students throughout the country through a "ladderized" program.

Prior to the actual career exam yesterday, a Mock Test was held last January 15, to familiarize students on the types of tests that will be given during the actual test. The Mock Test is a dry run not only for the students but for the proctors and the school officials as well.

The implementation of the exams to graduating students in the secondary schools was undertaken by officials in three levels: Region, Division, and School. The Regional Supervisor made sure the test materials were delivered and retrieved to and from the Division Offices within the region or distribution center for cluster divisions. The Schools Division Superintendent made certain that the implementation of the testing program was done. He provided the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC) a list of public and private high schools, as well as the number of enrollees in the fourth year level. There was an exchange of room examiners among private high schools and room examiners among public high schools.

In the case of OB Montessori Center, our Coordinator was Alternative Learning Supervisor Florentina Lizano. We were grouped with the other public and private secondary schools of Pasig and San Juan. Seven Examiners (six from Immaculate Concepcion Academy and one from Fountain International School) were assigned to proctor the 2006 OBMCI fourth year high school students taking the test. Meantime, our seven Examiners were tasked to proctor Xavier School.

For UNESCO, TVET is part of promoting sustainable development

It is every politician’s nightmare: unemployed youths hanging out in the streets with little chance of finding a job or going to university. For governments, rich or poor, the solution seems straightforward. Catch those kids before they fall into the cracks by teaching them skills in secondary school to carve their niche in the labor market. Of course, reality is never so simple, which partly explains why Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) can be a dirty word.

Principals and teachers point to the heavy expenses required to develop curricula, train staff and equip classrooms for these specialized subjects, which generally cost three times more than academic courses. For most parents and students, it remains a ‘second-class’ education.

In many of the least developed countries, pupils have little chance of either pursuing their schooling or finding a job, "So we advocate a new vision of vocational education that focuses on practical or ‘life skills’ integrated at the primary or secondary levels, depending upon the country’s resources," says Wataru Iwamoto, Director of UNESCO’s Division of Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education (TVE).

Countries, rich and poor, see a growing interest in TVET. They realize that it is a means to jumping on the bandwagon of globalization. "Look at the tremendous shift of employment from the United States and Europe to India and China, where you have such highly skilled work forces," comments Mohan Perera, Head of UNESCO’s section for TVE. "By substantially investing in TVET, these countries laid a major plank in their economic foundation."

For UNESCO, TVET goes beyond the narrow confines of economic planning. It is part of a larger vision of promoting sustainable development. Since its founding, UNESCO has been developing recommendations and organizing policy debates, while serving as a policy-advisor for governments trying to reform or create vocational education systems.

Breaking the cycle of mendicancy

For sometime, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been in search of a unifying force — a NATIONAL PLAN of ACTION — to make the Philippines economically independent… to make each Filipino believe he/she can be self-sufficient.

For more than half a century, government policy and practice has been to indulge the dependency of the Filipinos. This culture of mendicancy and helplessness has also been nurtured by parents. It is time to acquire faith in the youth. It is urgent to help them help themselves.

Sec. Jesli Lapus is on the right track. Let us cooperate with him.

(Reference: 8th International Conference on Education — Innovations in Secondary Education — Meeting the Needs of Adolescence in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok 2002; Education Today newsletter, Issue No. 13, April-June 2005.)

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